Top 5 SA Idols

Top 5 SA Idols

Nikita, our reporter, and Graeme our photographer, had some one-on-one time and loads of fun with the SA Idols! This is what they had to say…Lefa

3 songs to describe you?

Jol’Inkomo Miriam Makeba

Daughters John Mayer

Stop and Stare One Republic

Before Idols you were…

Doing corporate gigs, weddings, parties. I have just always been doing music; it has been paying my bills until now.

Who would play you in a musical about your life?

The guy from FAME (Gene Anthony)

What is the best and worst part about being on Idols?

The best part about it is that you get exposure. I guess the bad part about it is, having to perform, and afterwards being judged.

3 things that everybody should know before entering Idols?

You definitely have to have a lot of confidence. You need to practice and you have to be yourself; the most important thing.

You said you are single. What are you looking for in a girl?

I’m looking for somebody who is not scared to show who she is. I’m looking for somebody who is also very independent; who won’t let a guy just destroy her.

Mark

3 songs to describe you?
Show Must Go On Queen
Born To Be Wild
Help The Beatles

Before Idols you were?
I had a few jobs, MD of Sales at a software company, gave guitar lessons, vocal sessions for jingles on the radio, and then I had the band – 12th Avenue – that I play for, and we would rehearse every weekend then we would play out every weekend in the evenings.

Who would play you in a musical about your life?
Without a doubt in my mind, Jack Black would play me.

What is the best and worst part about being on Idols?
The best part about being on Idols is the exposure. Well, there’s so many best parts – I mean the best part is you get to perform in front of the fans here, and you get 3000 people every Friday that you perform in front of, you have millions watching you on TV, the excitement level is totally out there. And you are living the dream, that’s the best part about it. The worst part about it is the reality TV side of it. When Tuesday comes, the shocking part is that this is actually a competition; it’s not really the music business. It’s a competition between you and ten other people, and one of your friends has to go home, or it might be you. Other than that, six days of the week it’s great, and the seventh day it’s not.

3 things that everybody should know before entering Idols?
You need to be extremely dedicated, take good care of your voice – warm-up, practice, drink lots of tea, do the right things when it comes to vocals, don’t break your voice because it’s a weapon and you need it. And the third thing, be prepared to speak to your fans every day, all day, because without them you’ve got nothing.

Any embarrassing moments on stage?
On stage, I did fall flat on my face once. I was at The Mercury in Cape Town, and my bass guitarist had this shortened cable. So he was standing on the wing and I was meant to run on, and he wasn’t standing in the right spot ‘cause the cable wasn’t slack, so he made the cable nice and tight. I ran on in the dark not knowing anything, and just flew right across, and I landed flat spread eagle right across the front of the stage. The audience thought it was planned, and I was like, “yeah, rock and roll” [laughing].

Any words for your fans?
A particular Shout out to Ms Dawn Heinz. Number one Mark Haze fan, she drives all the other fans in the area to vote, she gets them all together, she does a great job.

Before Idols you were?
A performer, with Blues Brothers, Diamonds and Dust productions, singer – I had corporates before this.

Who would play you in a musical about your life?
Jennifer Hudson, Dream Girls.

What is the best and worst part about being on Idols?
The best part is definitely the clothing, the hair, the exposure that you get here, being around so many talented singers. And the worst part, the injection I get in my bum every single Thursday to stop you from getting sick.

3 things that everybody should know about you.
When I sleep at night, sometimes I sleepwalk [laughing]. The other thing is, people should know I don’t like pretenders. I am a very honest person, so when it comes to friendship I want loyalty. And the third thing is, I think people think on stage I’m more serious, but I’m actually not, I’m actually a really nice person to mingle with – I’m a happy, jolly person.

Other than music, what other interests do you have?
I used to play hockey when I was younger, so I would like to do that again someday. Also, I play piano, I also love hanging out with my friends. I try to keep my professional life away from my social life.

What is the best and worst part about being on Idols?
The greatest part of Idols is being on that stage. Walking out there and hearing all those fans, I could never even describe that. And the worst thing I’d say is waking up early in the mornings, we have got so much routine and so much stuff we need to do and I’m not a morning person. I’ve been forced to eat breakfast; I don’t do breakfast.

3 things that everybody should know before entering Idols?
We do get a lot of make-up so we don’t really look this good [laughing]. Another thing is we are just normal people, and we do normal stuff.

How would you describe your style?
I’d like to believe that its rock and roll and indie influenced, but I don’t want to pinpoint anything; it’s for the people to decide.

Who would play you in a musical about your life?
I think Leonardo DiCaprio is great and I like Jaquin Phoenix as well.

What is the best and worst part about being on Idols?
Basically just, it’s not really a worst part but it’s something I must deal with, is missing my family and my girlfriend. Other than that, the best part is, having to perform music every week and live the life of playing music every day. It’s what I have been dreaming about my whole life.

Any embarrassing moments on stage?
Last week I did Bridge over troubled water, I knew that it wasn’t my best because I was over-thinking it. I won’t make that same mistake again, I learned from it.

3 things that everybody should know before entering Idols?
They should know that they want to do music for the rest of their lives. They should know that it’s a long journey. And they should know that it’s a very rewarding journey; it’s all worth it.

Any words for your fans?
I love you guys with all my heart and without you, obviously, there would be no me and no music and I would have no one to sing to, so thank you so much from the depths of my soul for supporting me.